River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-08-25
California Letter.
san JOSH. CAL. Aug. 1s. 1857.

my River Falls friends, through YOU
ever welcome paper, my idea of Cali
fornia as far as 1 had seen it.
This valley is what the people here
call the garden of the state, and il
certainly is, consisting of orchards
vegetable gardens, and a few wheat
fields.
But very little of the grain is
cut for the wheat it might produce, as
1t is cut when the straw makes the
best hay, the valley land often produc.
ing as high as tons per acre and 4
tons being an average yield. The
mountain land is not so productive,
usually yielding from IL tons to 3
tons per acre, but that raised on the
table land is finer and better hay, and
bringing better prices in the market.
Hay is worth from $l2 to SIS per ton
in the city. We have wheat, oat, and
barley hay, and l believe good judges
claim superiority in the oat hay. 1t
is all baled in bales of about 200 lbs.
each.
Fruit ranches vary in size, ranging
from five acres to hundreds of acres.
although most of them are about ten
acres in eXtent-that being all the or
chard one man can we'll attend to.
The ranch across the street from my
place comprises 200 acres divided into
apricot, peach, prune, pear, egg plum.
and cherry OrchaTds-the apricot and
prune orchards being the larger as
their fruit pays the best financially.
It is called the Flickenger ranch-Mr.
Flickenger having purchased it about
four years ago when it was wheat
field, and to-day it is vast forest of
fruit trees. He has large cannery
and dryer, thereby cans and dries all
he raises besides buying thousands of
tons of his neighbOrs. He employs a
little army of workmen to assist in
picking and preparing for the cans.
Over 800 men, women, and children
find employment there at good wages,
some of the little women earning
Sl.75 per day. Della (my daughter) is
starting bank account at SIS per
day.
Apricots are very plenty and bring
at the canneries one and a half cents
per pound in 30 and go pound boxes
for which each person gets from to
10 cents, according to size, for cutting
in halves and pitting; after which
they are placed in trays ready for dry
ing. but before the trays are placed
out in the sun they go through what |
call a sulphur bath Ito make the fruit
look bright. The ripeSt is used for
drying, while the greener is cut and
pitted for the canning process. This
is only one factory among dozens that
are within two or three miles of San
Jose and some of them much larger.
A great many write me that they
suppose we must be having terrible
hot weather here. Now want to say
To. those people to get that erroneous
idea out of their heads at once, for
while you are sweltering in the heat
there we are enjoying the finest eli
mate imaginable, for nothing can be
greater than the difference in climate
of California and that in the eastern
states. The evenness of temperature
here the year round is something the
eastern man cannot understand and,
in fact, does not believe until he has
come and seen with his own eyes the
the Santa Clara Valley has
to offer him.
A country that is free from ice and
snow in winter, and which has neith-
er rain nor intense heat in summer, is
a marvel to one not ace stoned TO the
climate of this wonder al state.
The last rain that visited this Sec
ton was early in April and we do not
look for more rain until October, yet
vegetation lives and thrives here with
a growth That is wOndeTful-only such
as garden vegetables need irrigation.
Our fruit orchards have had no rain
or watering since the last rain, at the
same time we are harvesting the largest
crop ever known. The advantage this
kind of weather has for the hay raiser
and grain grower will at once make
itself understood to the eastern farm
er. who frequently has his entire crop
ruined by an unexpected rain or wind
storm.
We have no severe wind storms,
nothing resembling cyclone, no thun-
der or lightning. Have had an earth
quake since we came here. but nothing
TO speak of, and nine tenths of the in
habitants did not realize that we had
experienced an earthquake. We are
told by old residents that this has been
the kind of weather they have been
used to for thirty years past.
Some of my River Falls friends tell
me that the dust raises in clouds and
is perfectly suffOcating. That is an
other mo such thing" / have seen
more dust in Pierce county in one day
than have seen all the time since my
soiourn here. This | will say: the
dust is very fine and as one walks in
the roads not sprinkled, their clothing
might need shaking in day or two.
The laboring people command good
wages: brick-layeTs $500, masons So
90, carpenters $500 to $500, common
labor $3.50 to $500 per day.
We can grow nearly everything that
can be produced from the ground.
The vegetables here are Of the finest
variety and quality, the beets even,
growing so large as to necessitate us
ing a stump puller Il am told to make
them leave mother earth, and often
reach the enormous weight of loo
pounds. while squashes, (called pump
kins here) have been known to tip the
beam at 300 pounds.
Lands differ in price from 500 TO
81, 800 per acre, the latter price being
for orchards in the city limits, while
good unimproved lands wheat land)
can be bought for $500 or $500 per
acre.
Roads and streets in Santa Clara
Valley are OF the finest. being level
and graveled which makes them near
IL as hard as pavement.
John Moe bought a ten acre ranch
in Berryessa-
]. II. Lord purchased a residence in
the city, so you will see he does not
intend to raise fruit except for his
own consumption.
Norval McGregOr has a good posi-
ton in o. A. Hale & Co.'S dry goods
house, being in the domestic depart
ment.
The writer bought twenty acres and
is building at the present time, and
right here let me inform you that |
have worked every day without feel
ing the beat to be uncomfortable.
We have the warmest part of the
day about eleven A. NJ, then the sea
breeze watts US a gentle zephyr which
often calls for an outside wrap but
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